The Truth in Mirrors
by YourRhineStoneEyes
Summary: Cecil's mother told him to never look into a mirror, but not for the reasons that she told him.
1. Chapter 1

After the Sandstorm had taken place Carlos had been a nervous wreck; at first worrying about keeping people safe in the storm, then when doppelgangers started appearing and killing people he had had new concerns about keeping citizens safe. He knew it was dumb, he was a scientist; not a cop, soldier, or some superhero. He could only hope not to run into his own double if in fact he had one. These were his worries until he listened to Cecil's broadcast that day; until he heard the man on the airwaves say he was going through some portal that appeared seemingly out of nowhere. Carlos had tried calling him, texting him, and even resorted crazily enough to screaming at his radio as if Cecil could honestly hear him screaming for him to just stay in the damn studio and not be an idiot. When a new voice sounded on the radio, a very chipper slightly feminine voice he had felt the oddest chill going through him. When he had heard this new voice was named Kevin, heard that he looked exactly like Cecil he had felt sick with confusion and fear. He thought maybe the doubles had names, maybe this person; Kevin maybe he killed Cecil. For a moment he thought about it, thought about how dumbly obsessed the radio host had been with him and how he had ignored him and turned him down repeatedly.

His co-workers had stopped working, stopped barricading the doors and windows; they were standing around him all eyes on the radio. Apparently he wasn't the only one feeling a bit uneasy and freaked out by the voice on the radio. Something about this person was off, seriously off, and Carlos wanted nothing more than for Kevin to leave and for Cecil to come back on the air to assure that he was perfectly okay.

It felt like hours before Cecil finally did come back, he sounded far from okay. Even if he sounded scared Carlos couldn't help feel relieved that he was in fact alive and that other person was gone, gone somewhere. He really didn't even care where, even the scientific part of his mind that wished to study everything and everyone really didn't care where that man disappeared to. He stopped himself from calling the older man; when he thought he'd never see him again he had worried and regretted, but the moment that smooth voice came back he reminded himself not to get involved, not to care, and get too close to people who could die or disappear all of a sudden. Cecil could have just died today, if he had and if they had been involved then it would have been painful. He needed to keep the distance between himself and the radio host.

That night in his apartment he had been surprised and a bit nervous when someone began frantically pounding against the door. It was good to be cautious and generally afraid in Night Vale, especially late at night.

When he had opened the door he saw Cecil standing on the other side; he was still in the white dress shirt and black dress pants, his long black hair hung down over his face, his arms were wrapped tightly around himself, and blood was splattered over his shirt, pants, and most definitely his shoes.

"Cecil?"

The older man didn't wait for an invite, he stepped over the threshold and into the apartment; he wrapped his arms around Carlos' waist and buried his face against his chest as he began to cry and shake. Carlos tensed and took longer than he really should have to return the other man's embrace. He wasn't incredibly talented when it came to consoling other people, but he remembered the broadcast that night. He remembered Kevin's voice, remembered Cecil disappearing, and then coming back talking about what sounded like Hell and now here he was drenched in blood and crying in Carlos' arms.

"I thought you were dead, damn it Cecil what were you thinking doing that?"

He pulled the older man away from himself holding him at arms length. The radio host looked up at him seeming a bit afraid.

"I-I needed to check it out, it's what I do for a living."

It was why Carlos wouldn't let himself get close to him.

"What happened, where did you go?"

Cecil shook his head like he wanted to wipe bad memories from his mind. He moved away from Carlos and went over to the couch sitting down. He sat down next to the host, not even bothering keeping his usual distance between them. He didn't even care when Cecil took hold of his hand holding it tightly.

"Hell, that's what it looked like; it looked like Hell...Th-there was blood everywhere and th-then that...That thing...Oh God"

He started crying again.

"It's okay you're back, you're safe...He was in the station, he was talking."

Cecil looked up at that.

"H-he was?"

"Yeah, he um said you two look the same."

The older man looked offended by the comment.

"N-no I look...I mean we're the same height and weight a-and skin tone...Th-the, but that's it...No-nothing else."

"It's alright; can you tell me what he looks like. Why he doesn't look like you?"

Carlos kept his voice gentle, steady; he needed to be calm and steady, because Cecil was the furthest thing from that right now. He didn't even care about distance right now, he placed a hand on the older man's back rubbing gentle circles to try and calm him.

"He wasn't human...He looked completely insane; he ha-had these eyes...God his eyes they were so...They were just black, there was nothing to them but this Obsidian blackness and he...His mouth was slit wide i-in this horrible smile and he had all of the-these sharp teeth...Li-like some type of demon..."

Carlos tried not to show his confusion at the description; he was quick enough and smart enough to keep himself from saying the things he wanted to say right now. He knew to keep those things to himself as he looked into Cecil's obsidian black eyes and the way his sharp teeth worried at his lower lip.


	2. Chapter 2

Carlos' hands were placed firmly on his boyfriend's hips holding the other man against him. Cecil's fingers were in their usual position, combing repeatedly through his hair, whispering sickly sweet compliments against Carlos' lips between passionate kisses. This was how most of their days off went, as well as the hours after they were off from work. They took every moment alive and safe to be together, he was beginning to think maybe they should move in together.

"I think I should go shower, I still have some of that purple goo in my hair from where the microwave at the station exploded."

Cecil ran his fingers back through his own hair, he pulled his hand away showing he in fact still had the mysterious goo tangled in his shoulder length black hair. He gave Carlos one more kiss before standing up and making his way to the bathroom.

He lay back on the couch, waiting for the other man to get done with his shower. He figured he could make them dinner after Cecil was out of the shower and then...

A loud scream from the direction of the bathroom made the scientist jump up from his spot on the couch and run down the hallway. Inside the bathroom he found Cecil sitting on the floor with his back pressed against the wall and his hands over his face, his legs pulled up against himself as if he were trying to hide himself away from something.

"Cecil, Cecil what's wrong?"

The older man didn't respond, he continued to sit there occasionally shaking his head. Carlos knelt down next to him cautiously placing a hand on his boyfriend's shoulder. Cecil jumped at his touch, he lowered his hands and his black colored eyes were wide, he looked terrified.

"I-I saw it, th-that thing from the Sandstorm...I saw him."

"What, what do you mean you saw him?"

"In the mirror, I knew I shouldn't have looked; mom always told me to never look in a mirror because it'd lead to my death. I shouldn't have looked."

Carlos stood to his feet, he glanced between the man on the floor and the mirror. It wouldn't be the strangest thing to happen in Night Vale, Kevin had found his way there through a portal so why not a mirror? The scientist moved to get closer to the mirror, but was stopped when Cecil grabbed hold of his pant leg.

"No don't go, he'll kill you."

His voice came out small, scared.

"It's fine, I promise he won't kill me; I'm just going to take a look."

Of course if Kevin somehow was in the mirror and could get through he couldn't confirm his own safety. He was pretty sure that the other man could kill him with ease. He was curious and he wanted to find a way to calm the radio host down and checking was the only way to do so. He stepped closer to the mirror expecting some ghastly view into another world.

He saw himself and nothing else.

"Do you see it?"

"I see myself, no one else is here...Come here and have a look."

Cecil shook his head in refusal.

"Cec come on, I swear I'll be right here; no one will hurt you." He offered his hand out to the older man.

After a moment of hesitation the radio host took hold of his hand allowing his boyfriend to help him to his feet and gently pull him over towards the mirror. Carlos continued to hold his hand, standing next to him as the older man looked into the mirror. The look of terror on his face was renewed as he looked at his own reflection.

"Can't you see it? He's right there, he's looking right at me!"

"I just see us, nobody's there Cecil." He said feeling completely confused by the other man's reaction.

That's when he remembered the day of the sandstorm; Cecil had been scared, told him he had seen a man with Obsidian black eyes and a wide inhuman mouth. It had confused him hearing that, considering that the man he described was himself, he'd forgotten about all of that until right now.

He placed a hand on Cecil's cheek gently turning the older man's head away from the mirror so that now his black eyes were focused solely on him. He noticed the way his body was trembling, it was like a frightened small animal.

"Cecil what do you look like?"

Cecil furrowed his brow at the question, in a normal world it would be a dumb question, but right now it was very reasonable.

"What do you mean, you see me every day."

"I know, but I want to know what you think you look like."

The host shrugged and looked away for a second like he had to really think about it.

"I assume I look like a normal man, average really."

"You've never looked in a mirror before..."

"No of course not, not until now. Mom always told me it'd lead to my death, so I never questioned her about it. What is this all about?"

Carlos brushed his fingers through Cecil's hair, was there really a good way to tell somebody they looked nothing like they thought that they did?

"Cecil what you just saw in the mirror wasn't Kevin, that was you, is you."

The older man pushed his hand away and took a step back, he looked a good bit offended by the statement.

"Why would you say something so hateful to me, I'm human; I don't look like that...That thing."

Carlos placed a hand on his shoulder trying to calm him already knowing his hand would be pushed away again.

"Cecil I don't know what Kevin looks like or what, who he is, but I know that you have Obsidian black eye and your mouth is-"

"No stop lying to me, you told me you would never lie to me."

This time Cecil left the room, a door slammed shut a moment later.

Carlos lingered in the bathroom wondering how to approach this; so far he was doing a terrible job at this. He knew how Cecil felt about the peppier yet somehow demonic man who had traded places with him for just a few minutes. He didn't blame him for his fear or his hatred, but they were identical according to Kevin and according to Cecil without him even knowing it. He just couldn't figure out why Cecil didn't know about his appearance, was he entirely human?

Humans didn't have eyes like that and humans weren't born with wide mouths filled with sharp teeth. There weren't exactly that many ways to go about this scientifically; he knew after all of this time in Night Vale that science didn't always have the answers. Sometimes he had to think in terms of science fiction or in the ways of religion and myths of other cultures. Was his father human?

What if Cecil's father wasn't human, maybe some demon or monster from some other dimension. If this were something completely normal by Night Vale standards then Cecil would know about it and he wouldn't be so offended and terrified...He couldn't figure it out, it intrigued and confused him, but at the moment he had something else to deal with.

He left the bathroom and went back to the living room, Cecil's shoes were still on the floor by the front door so he hadn't left. Carlos went back down the hallway stopping outside their closed bedroom door; at least he hadn't left the apartment. It was late and he didn't want Cecil upset and out wandering the streets so late at night, or at any time of the day in Night Vale of all places.

He still didn't know what to do or say, he was as lost with this as Cecil was. He slowly opened the door, he stepped into the mostly dark room; the only light coming from the constantly moving black helicopters outside. Cecil was lying on the bed on his side, curled up in a ball like he had been in the bathroom. Carlos lay down behind him wrapping his arms loosely around his waist. He was pleased to not be told to leave or pushed away like before.

"I'm a monster"

"Don't say that about yourself."

"That thing from the sandstorm was a monster and I look like him...God, what am I?"

"You're you and you look like you, you don't look like Kevin."

Cecil turned over to face him, tears streaked his cheeks.

"Why didn't you ever tell me?"

"Generally people know what they look like, I just assumed that you knew."

The older man shook his head.

"I don't get why you're even here or why you even talked to me in the first place, why didn't you run away the first time we met?"

Carlos thought about it, about the first day in Night Vale. Nobody had looked completely normal and yes Cecil's appearance had slightly unnerved him, his piercing black eyes and Cheshire grin had been very inhuman, but something about him had been purely human and very much alive. The way he spoke, the way his eyes lit up when Carlos was in the room, the shy smiles he gave him, and his awkward pick up lines.

"You never scared me, you're so beautiful Cec."

"Don't"

He pressed his lips against the older man's forehead.

"You aren't Kevin, you aren't a damned thing like Kevin."

"What am I?"

"You're human"

Cecil gave a sad laugh.

"It's true, you're human as far as I'm concerned."

"I'm sure according to science that is a total lie."

"Forget science, this is me talking; I don't care what tests, wizards, or God would tell me about you. I've known you for so long and I know you aren't whatever the Hell Kevin is. You're Cecil, my wonderful, hyper, odd, and gorgeous loving boyfriend. You are the one thing in this town that has never frightened me."

More tears fell from the radio host's eyes as he listened to his boyfriend's words. A shy smile played across his lips, he wrapped his arms around Carlos' neck and buried his face against his chest.

"I love you Carlos"

"I love you too Cecil"


End file.
